September '26, 1B67. J 



JOURNAL OF JIORTICDLTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



241 



bnt yet green and hard. We are convinced that the Walburton 

 AJuiirable Peach, au J late kioda a» Late Admiiable. Cathoriue, 

 Tfiton de Venus, and balway, might he had very late in good 

 condition under glaiis, and would tlius come in as valuable 

 auxiliaries iu the country for shooting-parties. 



Many (f the trees iu-doors and out of doors have been roughly 

 gone over to remove laterals, &C., and the more {pruning is done 

 now the better for the next season. M\ weak Eecoiidary and 

 tertiary growths on trees intended to bear fruit act more as ex- 

 hausters than feeders, and present a larger instead of a smaller 

 Burfuuu for the rays of the sun, now diminished in force, to act 

 upon to insure perfect maturation of the wood. The ripening 

 of the wood now ought to demand as much thought as the 

 ripening of the fruit. We wish wo could oven have greatly 

 thinned our pyramidal Tears, and will remove if possible the 

 spotted fruit from the late kinds, as that will help them con- 

 siderably, fur independently of being too thick, a number 

 were considerably marked by a hailstorm. Apples in the 

 kitchen garden on low bush trees, are in general a heavy 

 crop. On other trees in a small orchard wo have none, but 

 that is chi- fly owing to their proximity to the thatched buildings, 

 from wliich the birds come every spring, and scarcely leave a 

 bud behind them. Uut for the noise of the gun in spiiug, and 

 other deterrents, the small trees in the garden would have 

 shared a similar fate, instead of being weighted to the ground 

 with fruit. Small low trees are, however, much more easily 

 protected from such ravages than orchard trees, and then it is 

 BO pleasant t<> be able to m^inage them, and do what is neces- 

 sary to keep them iu order. These low trees were heavilysy rinsed 

 with lime^ash i-evtral times in spring, but that alune would 

 not have kept the small birds from the buds ; but they, as a 

 riUe, avoid as dangerous a while colour. Common nets are, 

 if not thciroiiglily secure, a temptation rather than otherwise; 

 but if we had nets that would keep a white colour, we have no 

 doubt we should giiiu a great advantage. 



Strawlic'irii-x. — Not only in the case of fruit trees, but also in 

 that of Strawberriesi. we are too well reminded of the old axiom 

 of the teacher, " Do as I tell you, do not do as I do." We 

 know full well that example is better than precept, hut then it 

 is well to give the precept, especially when people do not know 

 hut that you also give tho example. Well, we have dwelt on 

 the importance of clearing all pliiutations of Strawbeiry plants 

 from runners, and if old plantatiocs, even thinning the stools; 

 and the bulk of ours still want atteuding to. We never have to 

 complain of the want of plenty of Strawberries ; but still we 

 know that unusually fine crops depend something on having 

 the plants cleared of their numerous progeny, and the ground 

 surface-stirred and mulched early, so that the roots shall be a 

 little protected, nourishment washed down to them, and sun 

 and air allowed to play freely among the leaves and buds that 

 are left. Those who wish to excel iu this respect must be 

 guided by our advice, and not by our example. We would have 

 wished all this done at least a nionlh ago. 



In the case of pots, went over them, pulled out weeds with 

 the point of a knife, cut off all runners, just broke the sur- 

 face soil, and g*ve a little more room to the pots, where tho 

 plants were standing rather thickly, that tho sun might aet on 

 each leaf. This season the plants are not so strong as we have 

 had them, partly owing to tho showers that have made us 

 dispense with Aianure-watering. We have placed a little soot 

 and a pinch of guano on the surface, but that does not make 

 up suHieiently for our manure-waterings. Last season, too, 

 our plants were not over-strong, but they fruited exceedingly 

 well, and then wo came to the conclusion that it was possible 

 to have the plants with too strong a growth, as then the buds 

 were not likely to be well matured. We pricked out more run- 

 ners than we have potted, and forthwith will dig a piece of 

 ground, enrich it at the surface, plant out n lot of these 

 pricked-out runners about C inches apart, and then if we want 

 them we can lift and pot, or transplant into beds under glass 

 in spring. Such plants do admirably when moved in March 

 and onwards, but for early woik the plants must be thoroughly 

 established in the pots in the autumn, and the ball be as lirm 

 with roots as a round Dutch cheese is to the touch. 



ORNAMENTAL DErARTMENT. 



Here the work has been a repetition of that of previous 

 weeks. We have again been presented with the fact that there 

 are many ways of securing the same object. We stated how 

 we had to make a large square of gravel hrm and dry without 

 making drains through it, or employing much labour or 

 fresh material, by merely petting rid of part of the fine 

 worn-out surface, picking, riddling to remove mere dusty 



matter, rolling and dusting the snrface to make it fine, 

 merely sloping it to both sides and the farther end from the 

 house, where there wore cesspools to catch the water and take 

 it to one drain. The rains sweep off at once, and after some- 

 thing like a flood the other day, no rain stood, and half an inch 

 from the surface the under stratum was quite dry. With 

 plenty of material we might not make a piece of entrance 

 gravel in that way ; but we feel sure it will answer until the 

 surface is again thoroughly worn out, as even when wet the 

 wheels of a cairiage scarcely show where they have been, and 

 not at all when dry. We woidd not allude to this subject but 

 for the simple fact, that many who make expensive ruads and 

 iculkg are not sufficiently aware that after all it is the ground 

 that carries the weight put on the walk, and that the bearing of 

 the weight equally depends almost entirely on a smooth un- 

 broken surface. One of the most lasting roads we ever had 

 anything to do with, was made through a marshy wet meadow. 

 It was always in a puddle, low, and muddy, though it had had an 

 immense quantity of stones put on, which quickly went ont of 

 sight. A lot of clay and the tops of White and Black Thorn 

 hedges had to be cleared away, and with layers of these, Thorn 

 and clay, the position of the road was covered and raised, and 

 then gravel was placed on the top, and the sides bevelled off, so 

 that the road was higher than the marshy groimd. For twenty 

 years that road has scarcely needed repair, the gravel merely 

 being pulled into the ruts for the first few months. For many 

 years, when a heavy waggon with four horses used to go over 

 this road, the ground would seem to sink below the wheel* 

 a little, but rise immediately the wheels passed. The snrface 

 soon became so smooth that even wheels made no impression, 

 and some three years ago, when digging down, we found the 

 Blackthorn and even the Whitethorn quite sound. Chalk 

 makes a tine bottom for either walks or roads where it can be 

 found, but the chalk must not come near the surface, or the 

 frosts and deluges of severe winters will make sad havoc if 

 there are openings or hollows on the surface. 



We have gone on with clearing beds, keeping lawns short, 

 itc, and have been obliged to water a few ot the centres of 

 beds notwithstanding the rains. We find, also, that many 

 shrubs, as Sweet Bay and even some Pinuses have suffered 

 from want of water, as the heads threw the rain beyond the 

 roots, and the sun has been more powerful than usual when 

 the days were clear and unclouded. We have passed many 

 shrubs that had enough to do to hold their own in a bri{;htday, 

 and we found that the soil beneath them was so dry that we 

 would have liked to have given them a dozen pails of water. 

 We think that shrubs often sutler more in this way than is 

 generally supposed. — R. F. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Seitesib eh 25. 

 LiTTix alteratioD bns taken place io quotations since our last week's^ 

 report. Peaches liave advanced iu price. 



■. d. 



Apples i sieve 1 Oto 1 



Apricots doz ~ 



Cberries lb. 



Chestnuts huBh. 



Curriiuts ^ sieve 



Bluck do. 



Pigs doz. 



Kilberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooseberries ..quart 

 Grapes, Hothouse. Ah. 

 Lemons 100 



Artichokes each 



Asparapus . . . ■ bundle 

 Beans, Kidney, J sieve 



ScarlotltuD.^ sieve 



Beet, Red doa. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brns. Sprouts i sieve 



Cabbaee doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery handle 



Cueumbors each 



pickling .... doz. 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Horbs bunch 



Uorsendisb . . bundle 



U la 



G Uelons each 



Nectarines doz. 



U Oranges lUO 



Peaches doz. 



Pears (dessert) .. doz. 



I Pino Apples lb. 



I Plums } sieve 2 6 



Quinces doz. U 



, Kaspbcrrii'B lb. 8 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bush. 10 



I do per 100 1 



0. d. s. 



1 6to3 



.S 6 



H 



4 



•J 



4 n 



VXGETABLES. 



S. d. 8. d 

 3 to 6 

 U 



a 





 



1 



2 

 

 3 

 1 

 



a 

 1 





 

 3 



a 6 



8 

 8 



Leeks bnnch 



Lettuce per S'-ore 



Musbroouis pottle 



Mu8td.,S: CresA. punnet 

 Onions. .perd,<z. bchs. 



Parsley per sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas per quart 



Potatoes buahol 



Kidney do. 



Radishes doz. bnncbca 



Ithuborb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bnshel 



Tomatoes per doa. 



Tumipa bnnch 



Vegetable Uarrow8,dz. 



d. 8. d 

 3to9 » 





 



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 D 



9 



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2 



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9 















B 



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3 6 



4 » 



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